B2B Teams Are Hopeful Despite ABM Hurdles, Study Finds

B2B marketers are in a pretty good mood as they enter 2023, even as they struggle to realize their account-based marketing strategies, according to Plotting A Course Through Turbulent Times, a study by Dun & Bradstreet.  

Of the marketers polled, 86% are confident about the year to come, and 34% are very confident.

That said, 86% feel their overall business performance is still being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, 30% claiming it is very much affected. And they face these challenges: 

  • Data accuracy — 35% 
  • Data consistency across platforms — 32% 
  • Incomplete or missing data — 32% 
  • Data technology — 30%
  • Data latency (outdated data) — 28% 
  • Too much data to make sense of it all or to act on it — 28%
  • Duplicate data — 28% 
  • Organizational support to make improvements — 25% 
  • Budget allocation to address data quality — 25%
  • Not having enough data — 23%

In response, B2B brands worked to enhance their ABM strategies.  

For instance, 60% say their firms shifted or increased their focus on growing business with existing accounts, while 59% say they have shifted focus to new customer acquisition and 52% are looking at customer retention (to reduce churn).   

Those that aren’t using ABM cite: 

  • Budget — 40%
  • Lack of resources/personnel — 33%
  • Got sidetracked during the pandemic with other initiatives — 30% 
  • Lack of data or adequate data to support account-based strategy — 29% 
  • No training or support for marketing teams — 26%
  • Unable to demonstrate potential or future benefits — 26%  

But once committed to ABM, these are the critical factors that they say drive success:

  • Technology — 29%
  • Sufficient time to execute program — 27%
  • Alignment of sales and marketing — 26%
  • Clear ABM strategy — 25% 
  • Budget — 24%
  • Sufficient resources/personnel — 24% 
  • Appropriate and sufficient content — 24% 
  • A share internal understanding about ABM — 23%
  • Ability to identify target accounts — 23% 
  • Proper statistical models and forecasting techniques — 23%

Dun & Bradstreet surveyed 600 B2B sales, marketing and data leaders in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. in August-September 2022. 

 

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